A dazzling fireball illuminated the evening skies over the eastern United States and parts of Canada on Wednesday night, captivating more than 200 observers on the ground. The spectacle, which occurred as the fireball entered Earth’s atmosphere and promptly burned up, was reported in 11 U.S. states and Ontario, according to data collected by the American Meteor Society.
The majority of witnesses reported seeing the meteor between 6:45 and 7 p.m. EST, with individual sightings lasting from 1 to 7 1/2 seconds. However, a few reports indicated that the falling space rock lingered for a longer duration before disappearing. One report from Augusta, West Virginia, and another from Front Royal, Virginia, claimed that the fireball remained visible for as long as 20 seconds.
While some sightings were brief, they were particularly vibrant. Lyndon, Virginia resident Donald Bradner captured the event on his Ring camera, sharing the footage online. The video showed a bright burst of light zooming through the skies over nearby Maryland. Additional sightings were documented in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan.
Meteorologist Topper Shutt from WUSA-TV explained that meteors are harmless and never hit the Earth’s surface. Meteorites, on the other hand, do hit the Earth before burning up. This distinction provides reassurance to those who may have been concerned about potential impact.
According to NASA, an estimated 48 1/2 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth every day. When a space rock enters the atmosphere and burns up, it is referred to as a meteor or shooting star. Fireballs are used to describe meteors that are exceptionally bright, sometimes even brighter than Venus.
Meteoroids, as they are called before descending towards Earth, can vary greatly in size. They can be as small as a grain of dust or as large as an asteroid. Most meteoroids are fragments that broke off from larger objects in space, such as comets, the moon, or other planets. NASA explains that meteoroids can be composed of rock, metal, or a combination of both.
Last September, a particularly bright fireball was witnessed by hundreds across the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. NASA reported that the fireball appeared as bright as a quarter moon and determined that it originated from a small fragment of an asteroid. Scientists believe that the asteroid may have come from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The occurrence of fireballs in the sky serves as a reminder of the vastness and beauty of our universe. While they may be fleeting, these celestial events captivate our attention and inspire wonder.
